Spring-bending machine.



J. Nl. TRACY.

SPRING BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man JULYH. 191s.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

. tion of same.

JOSEPH MARTIN OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

SPRING-Banniere MACHINE.

need-res.

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Patented naif. 2e. reis.

imputation-mea my 1v, 191e; serial-Nc. 109.716;

of Washington, have invented certain newV and' useful linprovements in Spring-Bendinn- Machines-of which the following is a full. true, and exact specification:

My invention relates to improvements in spring'. bending' machines, andI has for its principal object to provide an' improved and novel device for bending theV various leaves of a leaf spring to any predetermined shape g to provide a device of the class described in which the lirst leaf bent is used as a form against which the next leaf uponl either side of it may be bent andV in which the last leaf bent in any particular spring is used as the form for thel adjacent leaf. Anotherobject of my device isto` provide adjustable means for bending the leaves of the springto the desired shape. In the bending-` of leaves for a leaf spring it is necessary that each leaf be bent so* as to bear against theA leaves upon either side of it in such a manner' as to' develue the resistance of all the leaves of the spring to their proper proportion. The usual method of Bendingis by mea-ne of hand tongs which is'lmanifestly 'slow' and inaccurate-and a large amount of time is consumed in the bendingwlii'cli. allows the hot leaf to cool and it is frequently necessary to reheat the lea-f before quenching. While it is" known to applicant that there are' other spring bending machines in which adjustable keyboards and a multiplicity of patterns are used, no device is known in which each leaf of a given spring is in turn used as a form against which to bend the adjacent leaves. Applicants device is easily operated by one man and forms the 4leaf quickly and accurately so that no time is lost in quenching and further, any desired shape of spring' may be built up without patterns by simply forming the lirst leaf toa predetermined -shape and forming the subsequent leaves by using those already bent as a form.

Other objects will appear as my invention is more fully explained in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appendedclaims.l

ln the drawings Figure l is a front elevation 'of my device. Fig. 2 is a side eleva- Fig. 3 is an enlarged deanism.

tail view illustrating applicantis clamping means; Fig. fla is another view of the mech- Referring more particularly to the drawings,- nu'meral' 1 indicates a base upon which my device is mounted. Secured to base 1 isI a vertical mast 2 upon which a. carrier 3 is sli'dably mounted. A pair of similar plunger frames 1l: are pivoted at adjacent the lower end of carrier 3. The upper edges of frames 4 are retained in proper alineinent by guide 6. Carrier is suspended from a. cross arm 'T by means of spring 8. The outer ends of frames el are similarly supported by means of springs 9.

Plungers 10 are mounted vertically in openings in the upper and lower members of frames 4 and are clamped in position by means of clamp rods 11, hand screws 12 and fillers 13. The plungers 10 may be adjusted vertically in either' frame by simply loosening the hand screws 12 and shoving the plungersup or down as the case may be. A yoke 14 is slidably mounted upon mast 2 and suspended from the outer ends of frames L by means of adjustable tie rods 15 and centrally from carrier by means of a spring 16. Any suit-able lever arrangement may be used to draw downwardly the yoke 14k,v frames 4 and carrier 3. Such a lever arrangement inay consists of a. hand or foot leverl 17 which is pivoted te yoke 145 as at 18 and the inner end of which is pivoted as at 19 to links" 20 which in turn are pivoted tobearings 21 which are mounted upon base l. An anvil 22 is secured to mast 2 at a point somewhat below the normal position of carrier 3. An intermediate cross arm 23 is also secured to mast 2 below anvil 22.

Adjustable and resilient springleaf supports are slidablv mounted adjacent either end of intermediate cross arm 23. The spring end supports include vertically adjustable bolts 24 which are slidable horizon tally in slots in the intermediate cross arm 23. Coil springs 25 surround the bolts 2li and project above them. In operation the plungers 10 are set so that the lower ends contact with the line of a predetermined spring curve somewhat as shown in Fig. `l. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the carrier and plunger frames are somewhat pulled downwardly from the normal position in order to better illustrate the relationship of the plungers and spring end supports. After the plungers have been properly set the hot `spring leaf is resting centrally upon anvil 22 and the ends of the spring allowed to evenly balance themselves upon the topsV of springs 25. The lever `17 is then thrown downwardly which pulls the yoke 14, carrier 3 and plunger frames l down along the mast 2. The lower ends of plungers 10 engage the leaf and bend it to the form of the curve of the plungers. After the plungers nearest the mast grip the leaf against the anvil 22, the carrier and the inner ends of the frames are stopped from further vertical movement but the continued depression of the lever 14. continues to lower1 the outer ends of frames 4 which swing about pivot points 5. The outer ends of frames 4 are pulled down until the leaf engages the upper ends of bolts 24 which brings the frames to a stop.` it will be understood that theJ presence of the springs 16 permits the yoke lll to continue its downward movement after carrier 3 has come to a standstill. The device is now released and the form leaf is quickly quenched in an oil tempering bath from which it is immediatelyl withdrawn and placed across the anvil in readiness to be used as a form against which to bend a new leaf `which is to lie adjacent to it in the finished spring.

The new hot leaf is placed above the iirst bent leaf which is now used as a form and the operations of bending the hot springs are repeated as previously stated excepting that no new adjustment is made in the plungers l0. The new leaf is bent down hard against the form leaf and when released possesses enough elasticity to spring away from the form the proper amount to give the correct clearance between adjacent all) v Copies or this patent may be obtained for leaves of the spring. The' second formed leaf is now quenched and used as a form for the third leaf and Soon until the entire spring has been formed. rlhe only adjust- `mg necessary as the subsequent leaves are 'cross arm 23. From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operations of my device will be fully understood.V

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my inventioml am .aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the Spirit and scope of the invention, and l therefore desire to avoid being limited to the exact form shown and described.` Y

Having described my invention what l claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a vertically 4slidable carrier,

swingable plunger frames pivotally mounted upon said carrier, a plurality of vertical plungers adjustably mounted upon said frames, and stationary with respect to said frames, a stationary leaf supporting anvil, and means for moving the said carrier and frames with respect to the said anvil7 where-r by a spring leaf may be bent about the anvil to conform to the outline of the points of the said plungers.

2. in a device of the class described, combination of a vertically slidable carrier, swingable plunger frames mounted upon said carrier, a plurality of plungers adjustably mounted upon said frames. a stationary leaf supporting anvihand adjustable resilient leaf supporting means, which are independent of said anvil.

\ JOSEPH MARTIN TRACY,

live cents each, by addressingithe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D.G. f Y

ythe Y 

